Philomath High’s Associated Student Body helped bring to life the story of Corp. Albert Lewis Vandersee at this past Saturday’s basketball games against Junction City. A 1939 PHS graduate who lost his life in 1944, Vandersee’s biography appeared in the evening’s game program and he was featured during halftime of the boys basketball game when announcer Dave Dunham read details about his courageous military service during World War II.
Eighty years ago on Dec. 16, 1944, German forces launched a surprise counterattack through the Ardennes Forest through Luxembourg and Belgium. The first unit they encountered were soldiers from the 28th Division “Keystone” Division from Pennsylvania. The German objective was to disrupt the advance of Allied Forces and capture the seaport of Antwerp, Belgium.
Antwerp is a port city like Portland here in Oregon and served as a seaport receiving shipments of allied equipment, ammunition and troops into Europe. This was the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge which would become one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.
Gen. Dwight David Eisenhower recognized the critical importance of preventing the offensive advances of enemy forces and ordered the relocation of troops assigned to the 101st Airborne Division from Holland to the small town of Bastogne, Belgium, located 132 miles southeast of Antwerp.
Bastogne was a town with a population of approximately 4,000 people, similar in size to Philomath, and served as a travel hub where seven roadways converged to provide access to multiple locations across central Europe covered in thick forests. Bastogne also has a rail line that was critical to moving military supplies throughout the European Theater.
Eisenhower called upon the 101st Airborne Division, who had recently parachuted into Holland and fought in a massive airborne operation code named Operation Market Garden. The 101st Airborne Division, also known as the “Screaming Eagles Division,” were boarded on trucks in Holland and transported to Bastogne to defend this strategic military location.
One of the soldiers on these trucks was Vandersee.
Originally from Monroe, Vandersee attended PHS from 1936-39 and was a three-sport varsity athlete. His name is listed in the 1939 PHS commencement program kept on file at Philomath Museum. His senior picture also appears in the 1939 PHS yearbook that is in the museum archives.
After graduation, Vandersee worked in local lumber mills in the area and served as a volunteer with Philomath’s fire department.
In response to the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, the United States declared war on Japan. Four days later, on Dec. 11, the U.S. declared war on Germany to end their conquest of other European nations.
Vandersee was inducted in the U.S. Army in October 1942 along with other young men across Benton County. He attended U.S. Army Airborne School in Fort Benning, Georgia, and became a paratrooper. He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division “Screaming Eagles” and underwent additional training in Camp Mackall in North Carolina.
Vandersee deployed with his unit to Europe in March 1944.
According to a March 6,1944, article in the Corvallis Gazette Times, Vandersee telegraphed his mother, Mrs. May Vandersee, and shared the news that he arrived safely overseas and “the town he was stationed in was about the same size as Philomath.”
Mrs. Vandersee received another telegram from her son on Nov. 10, the day before Veterans Day 1944. She shared it with the newspaper, which indicated that he was a paratrooper in Holland in November 1944. This placed him in Holland with the 101st before their truck movement in December.
This brings us back to the truck movement from Holland to Bastogne, Belgium.
Eisenhower ordered the 101st to “hold Bastogne at all costs.” Due to the critical importance of the road hub for moving troops and supplies, he knew that the allies needed to secure it and prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
Bastogne was surrounded by nearly 100,000 enemy troops, tanks and artillery. Bastogne wound up being the heart of the Battle of the Bulge.
German commanders sent four soldiers equipped with white flags and a message to the American commander that contained an ultimatum that basically told the 101st Airborne they were surrounded and that they should either surrender or be annihilated by overwhelming artillery barrages.
The American commander, Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, sent a one-word response to the German soldiers that said “Nuts.” The Americans refused to surrender to the Germans. The “Screaming Eagles” were determined to hold their ground.
The Germans responded to the curt response by shelling Bastogne. The German Luftwaffe proceeded with aerial bombardment and numerous German infantry units assaulted the city.
Tragically one of those “costs” that the Americans would pay for the “Nuts” response was the life of Corp. Albert Lewis Vandersee. He was killed fighting gallantly during the Battle of the Bulge defending the city Bastogne, Belgium, on Dec. 25, 1944 — Christmas Day.
Vandersee would never return home to Philomath. He is buried in the American Cemetery in Luxembourg, which notably is the same cemetery where Gen. George Patton was laid to rest. A short two-minute tour of the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, courtesy of the American Battle Monuments Commission, can be viewed here. And here is a link to a special memorial certificate specifically recognizing Vandersee.
Vandersee’s funeral was held on Jan. 28, 1945 at the White United Brethren Church located on the corner of Pioneer Street and North 10th Street in Philomath. This historic building is currently being restored by a local nonprofit.
A mother who loses a son in combat is referred to as a Gold Star Mother.
Mrs. May Vandersee, Albert Lewis’ Gold Star Mother, shared a letter she received from Gen. Maxwell Taylor, who served as the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division. He wrote to notify Mrs. Vandersee about the death of her son and express his “deep personal sympathies.”
It was published by the Gazette-Times on March 9, 1945:
“He died on Dec. 25, 1944, of wounds received while fighting gallantly with our forces in defense of Bastogne, Belgium. This key city was successfully defended, and the great German counter-offensive stopped only because there were men like your son willing to die rather than fall back. His courageous example has had a profound influence on all who knew him and his memory will always remain with those who fought with him in this decisive action. The officers and men in this division join me in extending to you our sincere sympathy in the loss of your son and our “Comrade-In-Arms.”
Mrs. May Vandersee received the Purple Heart that was awarded to her son posthumously.
Even though her son was buried in Luxembourg, Mrs May Vandersee had a memorial marker made bearing Albert Lewis Vandersee’s name that still sits in the Monroe Cemetery. There is nothing stronger than a mother’s love.
Vandersee’s name also appears on the Memorial Aerie located in the 101st Airborne Division headquarters at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as well as the Benton County Veterans Memorial on Kings Boulevard in Corvallis.
Before Vandersee was a paratrooper, he was a Warrior. We must never forget him.
(Eric Niemann is a former mayor and city councilor in Philomath. He can be reached at Lifeinphilomath@gmail.com).